Obama: Campaign cash 'ridiculous'

10/25/12 10:38 PM EDT

President Obama blasted the current state of campaign finance, saying that the amount of money being spent on elections was "ridiculous."

On the same day that his reelection effort and allies officially passed the billion dollar mark, Obama offered his thoughts on the breakneck pace of campaign fundraising and spending.

"I think the amount of money that is being spent in my campaign and Mr. Romney's campaign and in the super PACs that are out there is ridiculous," Obama said in an interview with NBC's Brian Williams.

Obama said that he was an early critic of the Supreme Court decision that opened the door to unlimited independent expenditures from corporations and unions.

"When the Citizens United decision came out, I took a fairly unusual step of saying this is bad for our democracy in a State of the Union speech," Obama said in an interview that aired Thursday on NBC's "Rock Center." "I continue to believe that."

Obama has been a vocal critic of that decision — though independent expenditures by outside groups have long been legal under U.S. law. He has also given his approval for cabinet members and White House staffers to raise money for a super PAC supporting him.